Inna Shevchenko | The Guardianhttp://www.theguardian.com/profile/inna-shevchenko
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Femen let Victor Svyatski take over because we didn't know how to fight it | Inna Shevchenkohttp://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2013/sep/05/victory-svyatski-femen-man
Once, we accepted a man like Svyatski taking control of us. But Femen is now a group where women follow their own ideas<p>This week I have been told that I'm not a feminist, that my fight is not real. I have been told that people don't believe my slogans any more, that my ideas are fake. I have been condemned for fighting male domination in my life, for fighting the patriarchy.</p><p>The Australian director Kitty Green spent one year with <a href="http://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2013/apr/10/femen-naked-shock-troops-of-feminism" title="">Femen activists</a> in Ukraine shooting a documentary that is showing at the 70th Venice film festival. The film, <a href="https://www.facebook.com/ukraineisnotabrothel" title="">Ukraine Is Not a Brothel</a>, is a history of Femen. It shows a crucial paradox of the movement, one that has now become a <a href="http://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2013/sep/04/femen-man-topless-protests-victor-vyatski" title="">scandal</a>. It concerns one of the men interviewed in the film, <a href="http://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2013/sep/04/femen-men-feminism-victor-svyatski" title="">Victor Svyatski, who proclaimed himself the leader of our feminist movement</a>. It has become an unwelcome surprise for our supporters, and, of course, more fodder for those who criticise Femen.</p> <a href="http://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2013/sep/05/victory-svyatski-femen-man">Continue reading...</a>FemenGenderProtestFeminismWorld newsUkraineEuropeVenice film festival 2013FilmCultureThu, 05 Sep 2013 11:36:29 GMThttp://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2013/sep/05/victory-svyatski-femen-manTiziana Fabi/AFP/Getty ImagesInna Shevchenko, left, with Ukraine is not a Brothel director Kitty Green, second left, and two Femen activsts at the 70th Venice Film Festival. Photograph: Tiziana Fabi/AFP/Getty ImagesTiziana Fabi/AFP/Getty ImagesInna Shevchenko, left, with Ukraine is not a Brothel director Kitty Green, second left, and two Femen activsts at the 70th Venice Film Festival. Photograph: Tiziana Fabi/AFP/Getty ImagesInna Shevchenko2013-09-05T11:36:29ZWe are Femen, the naked shock troops of feminism | Inna Shevchenkohttp://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2013/apr/10/femen-naked-shock-troops-of-feminism
Femen is at war with a patriarchy that sees women as sex objects. What weapons do we have? Our bare breasts<p>You can hear us shouting &quot;Fuck off, dictator!&quot;, &quot;I'm not your sex toy!&quot;, or &quot;Religion is slavery!&quot; You can see our half-naked bodies facing Berlusconi, Putin or the Pope. You can feel how deep our anger is by looking in our eyes. We are feminism's shock troops, a spearhead unit of militants, a modern incarnation of the word <em>fearless</em>.</p><p>We are Femen. Our nakedness attacks the raw nerve of the historic conflict between women and &quot;the system&quot;. We are nothing less than its most visual and fitting embodiment. Our activists' bodies represent undisguised hatred for the patriarchal order, and display the new aesthetics of a rejuvenated woman's revolution.</p> <a href="http://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2013/apr/10/femen-naked-shock-troops-of-feminism">Continue reading...</a>FeminismWomenWorld newsVladimir PutinRussiaEuropeGenderProtestFemenWed, 10 Apr 2013 12:04:38 GMThttp://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2013/apr/10/femen-naked-shock-troops-of-feminismSasha Mordovets/Getty ImagesRussian president Vladimir Putin, left, is accosted by a Femen activist in Hanover as the German chancellor, Angela Merkel, looks on. Photograph: Sasha Mordovets/Getty ImagesFrancois Mori/APFemen activists stage a march in Paris where they have opened a headquarters in a move to recruit members in their fight against the discrimination of women. Photograph: Francois Mori/APFrancois Mori/APActivists of the women's rights group Femen chant slogans during a march in Paris where they have opened a headquarters in a move to recruit members in their fight against the discrimination of women. Photograph: Francois Mori/APInna Shevchenko2013-04-10T12:04:38Z